Reviews»Comic Books»X-O Manowar #43
X-O Manowar #43
Kareem Ali 4.5

X-O Manowar #43

 

  • The good

    Great start to the story arc with intense action and engrossing story. Touches on more intricate details of overall situation

  • The bad

    The view of the Vine's arrival in the world at large glossed over

  • The ugly

    • X-O Manowar #43 is the beginning of the Kill List, a story arc that has Aric and Ninjak hunting Vine plantings spread throughout the planet. It opens up with doctor Leonard Christopher being introduced to give a speech at the campus of Omen Enterprises about his research in Genetics. Dr. Christopher states that he had lengthy opening remarks planned but instead he gets right to it by announcing that the era of Genetic Medicine is finally here. However, Aric and Ninjak are in the rafters watching this speech and were waiting for this moment. Ninjak hacks into the doctor’s cell phone and sends a message overriding silent mode. When the doctor pulls out the phone it explodes killing him instantly in front of a stunned audience.

     

    They took this drastic action due to the discovery of Vine plantings in positions of power and the recent arrival of the Vine looking for a new homeland. This arrival emboldened the plantings to move forward with their plans and try to incite all-out war between the races. Can Aric and Ninjak eliminate enough plantings to prevent this catastrophe?

    X-O Manowar #43
    I appreciated the way the last story arc set up the Vine’s arrival on Earth, and there were some great moments that had me on the edge of my seat. However, I felt it didn’t delve deep into all the dynamics of such a situation and just focused on the surface issues of the initial confrontation. I was hoping that the hunt for plantings would touch on these dynamics a bit more, and this first issue in this story arc does a good job in going deeper than just the surface.

     

    The opening sequence ending with Ninjak detonating a bomb in Dr. Christopher’s face and the subsequent battle while escaping was raw and intense. It set the tone right off the bat, at least in terms of action, hopefully for the entire story arc. But what made this opening sequence better wasn’t the action or the superb artwork by Robert Gill but the story details that followed.  And I think that fact was an example of how this won’t be a story arc just filled with action but lacking story.

    X-O Manowar #43
    There was the customary showing of how the Visigoth were making preparations for the Vine to remain in their kingdom and the explanation of why they couldn’t settle elsewhere. And of course the gravity of Aric trusting an outside force to protect his people while he hunted the Vine plantings was conveyed wonderfully. However, it was the interaction between two Visigoth and Vine kids that captured the unique dynamics of this situation overall.  It touched on it in a way the last story arc didn’t, and in a clear and relatable way. And this was followed up with the revelation that not all Vine plantings were working for the same thing, adding some needed complexity to the story arc. Hopefully this continues as well.

     

    I don’t want to give away the entire issue but the way the rest of it unfolded was highly entertaining. It was mostly action but considering how the story was already laid out it was perfect. And Ninjak’s expertise would be utilized in a way to make the Kill List feel like the story developments will be as intense as the action. And I can’t wait.

     

    SUMMARY

     

    X-O Manowar #43 is a tantalizing start to this story arc setting the bar high for subsequent issues with its no holds barred action, the dynamics of the overall situation and story progression. It starts off with a bang and only slows down to develop an engrossing story that takes time to address the intricacies of the overall situation with the Vine’s arrival. I do wish more was shown with the Vine in terms of how they’re viewed around the world good or bad. But overall it’s a very promising start to what can be an incredible story arc.

     
    Release Date: 1/6/16
    Writer: Robert Venditti
    Artist: Robert Gill

  • Rating ( 9 )
  • Total score 9.0

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